Category: Build It

We have half bath downstairs that’s supposed to be for guests. And by “guests” I mean the 10 boys on the street who pee in our house frequently.

It’s fancy and formal looking, which is the exact opposite of my taste. So I’ve decided to add some whimsical touches to it, because painting over the maroon walls is at the bottom of my “that sounds like a total nightmare” priority list.

And because it’s my bathroom and we are all #freetobe-lieve in our selfies. Plus, this bathroom has the best selfie mirror in the house. I love the idea of filling this room with conversation starters and positivity. If you can’t have fun with a stuffy bathroom, then what good is a stuffy bathroom?

All free clear wanted me to talk about being #freetobe crafty this summer, and I realized this would be the perfect project for this sponsored post.

To start, I found a piece of wood that fit the space in our scrap pile (about 18×24), but you could always ask your home improvement store to cut one to size for you.

Keep in mind that you want your sign to show when you take your selfie, so plan according to that space.

This one was a little crooked, but I liked that about it. We just gave it a quick sanding to smooth out any rough spots.

This is actually the first project I’ve done with my vinyl cutting machine, and it made it SO easy.

The key to remember is the letters have to be BACKWARDS on the wood/canvas for them to appear the right way in the mirror. So I designed my text that way in my machine’s software.

If you don’t have a vinyl cutting machine, you could easily request this as a custom order from one of the thousands of vinyl vendors on Etsy.

Now, the sign looked pretty awesome just like that, but it wasn’t the look I was going for, and I liked being able to remove the vinyl so I don’t have to worry about it peeling at some point.

First, I used some gold spray paint around the edges, which is a totally optional, but fun thing to do.

I painted over the letters and covered the top. I used white chalk paint for this.

Then I carefully peeled back the vinyl letters while the paint was still wet. And made a big mess, then made a mental note to throw my clothes in the wash immediately after with some all free clear. (I’ve been working that stuff hard this week. Thank you, stomach bug.)

This little scraper tool helped a lot. You can get it in the craft store with the paper and vinyl cutting supplies.

I like the idea of someone sitting on the toilet, totally confused by what that sign is supposed to mean until they stand at the sink to wash their hands.

I sanded the white paint a little bit to even the texture and distress it just a tad.

Annnnnnd done! Super simple, but so unexpected. And fun!

Summer is a great time for getting the paint and craft supplies out and experimenting. You can throw on old shorts and make a big mess outside, then let your projects dry in the hot sun while you use all free clear to clean up everything from your clothes to your counters- with their all free clear OXI booster.

It’s been 3 years since we installed our own hardwood floors on a small budget. We are still in love with them, and I’m answering some popular questions about them, including our opinion on using Monocoat to finish them.

My kids may ruin a lot of things, like my ability to ever wear anything white, but they definitely have not ruined our ability to have a beautiful house. Yes, when people walk in our house, the first thing they will probably think is, “Kids live here.”